Hood Cleaning Calgary — Northern Hood & Exhaust
Professional commercial kitchen hood cleaning in Calgary & Airdrie. NFPA 96 certified, full system cleaning to bare metal. Same-day service available.
The grease you can see is telling you about the grease you can't
Your kitchen hood collects the heaviest grease right where heat is concentrated. That visible buildup on the filter rack and hood interior? It's a fraction of what's coating the inside of your ducts and fan housing.
We clean commercial hoods to bare metal — the way NFPA 96 requires it. Not surface wiping. Not making it look clean. We remove grease deposits from every interior surface: plenum chamber, filter rack, grease traps, all accessible zones. Then we document it with before-and-after photos so you have proof the job was done right.
What full hood cleaning includes
Most operators think hood cleaning means filters and the visible interior. Compliance means more than that.
Interior hood surfaces
The plenum above your filter rack collects aerosolized grease that passes through the mesh. We access it, scrape it, and clean it to bare metal — even the corners most crews skip.
Filter rack and grease channels
Grease channels catch drippings. When they overflow, grease runs onto the cookline or into the duct. We clear them completely and check the drain path.
Exhaust collar and transition
Where the hood connects to the duct is where grease condenses as air slows down. This joint gets the heaviest accumulation and is often missed. We clean it every time.
Accessible duct sections
If we can reach a horizontal run or elbow through the hood opening, we clean it. Most duct cleaning happens from the roof, but we handle what we can access from below.
Calgary restaurants — wok kitchens need quarterly cleaning
If you're running a South Asian or Chinese kitchen in Calgary — especially the NE corridor along 32nd Avenue or 36th Street — you already know peanut oil and high-heat wok cooking build grease faster than anything else.
NFPA 96 classifies wok cooking as “high-volume charbroiling.” That puts you on a quarterly cleaning schedule — every three months. Not twice a year. Grease fires in wok kitchens spread faster because the fuel source (oil-heavy smoke) is constant during service.
We work with a lot of South Asian restaurants in Calgary because we understand the grease cycle. Most cleaning companies treat every kitchen the same. We don't.
The cleaning certificate matters more than you think
NFPA 96 Section 11.6.13 requires a dated cleaning certificate posted in your kitchen after every service. It's not optional paperwork — it's the first thing a fire inspector asks to see. No certificate = no proof = failed inspection.
We email before-and-after photos within 24 hours, post a compliance sticker inside your hood, and provide a dated service report. If you need records for insurance or a lease audit, you'll have them.
How often does your hood need cleaning?
This isn't a sales pitch. It's the NFPA 96 frequency table, which Alberta adopted under the National Fire Code – 2023 Alberta Edition:
The actual rule says surfaces must be cleaned before they become “heavily contaminated.” Frequency is the default trigger. If grease builds faster than the minimums, cleaning needs to happen sooner.
We work around your schedule — not ours
Most hood cleaning happens after close or before open. We coordinate around your kitchen hours. Late-night cleaning, early-morning starts, Sunday work — whatever keeps your operation running.
Same-day and next-day service available for Calgary, Airdrie, and surrounding areas. If you need it done this week, we can usually make it happen.
Free inspection for new customers
20 minutes on-site. We check the hood, look up into the plenum, confirm what needs work, and give you a flat-rate quote before we leave. No obligation to book.
If you're preparing for a fire marshal visit, buying or selling a restaurant, or haven't had the system cleaned in a while, the inspection tells you exactly where you stand.
Call or text Iqbal: 587-990-7769
Email: iqbal@northernhood.ca
Service area: Calgary, Airdrie, Chestermere, Okotoks, Cochrane, and surrounding Alberta communities
Common questions
Do you clean the rooftop fan, or just the hood?
We clean the full system — hood, ducts, and rooftop fan — unless you specifically request hood-only service. Most fire risk comes from grease in the duct and fan housing, so we always recommend the complete job.
Can you clean the system while we're open?
Not safely. The exhaust fan needs to be off, and we use degreasers that shouldn't be active around food prep. We schedule around your close time or before you open.
How long does it take?
For a typical restaurant hood (under 20 feet), 3–4 hours total including setup and fan work. Larger systems or first-time deep cleans can run longer. We give you a time estimate with the quote.
What if we already have a hood cleaner?
We offer free second-opinion inspections. If your current provider is doing the full job — including the rooftop fan and documentation — stay with them. If you're not sure, we'll show you what's being missed.
Do you service hotels and larger facilities?
Yes. We handle multi-hood commercial kitchens, hotel kitchens, institutional facilities, and care homes. Pricing scales with system size and access requirements.